As CAA lame ducks, all Old Dominion teams playing for NCAA at-large berths

None of Old Dominion's sports teams will be eligible for conference titles, and automatic NCAA bids, in their final year in the Colonial Athletic Association, and the league has shelved discussion of affiliate membership for several Monarchs' teams until expansion is complete.

Much was made of ODU's football and basketball teams being ineligible for CAA titles, but the Monarchs' lame-duck status and impending departure for Conference USA mean that all of their teams must travel the at-large route in order to get to postseason.

"Obviously, that's something that we've addressed with the team," men's soccer coach Alan Dawson said. "We understand that you have to take care of your regular season. You don't get any second chances, per se."

Dawson's teams have been to the NCAA tournament eight times. Seven appearances were through at-large invitations. The Monarchs are ranked in the preseason top 25 in the coaches' poll, and their schedule this fall includes national powers Creighton, Maryland and Central Florida, in addition to a full conference slate.

"We've got games on the schedule, that if we can take care of business and win a few, we'll be fine," Dawson said.

Field hockey coach Beth Anders said she has spent little time thinking about the implications and NCAA requirements.

"I don't know if it creates any extra motivation, but we're not focusing on it," she said. "Every single game we've played and every game I've ever coached has just been about winning that game. We've never focused on what it takes to get postseason."

Anders is entering her 30th and final season at ODU, and is the most successful field hockey coach in Division I history. Her teams have won 546 games, a record nine national championships and made 27 NCAA tournament appearances.

Anders always schedules ambitiously outside the conference, as a matter of practice. That schedule should benefit the Monarchs at the end of the season.

"I think it matters to the NCAA (selection) committee," she said. "Hopefully, we'll do enough that they'll have to take us."

A future concern for Anders' successor, and the athletic department, will be the fate of four ODU teams in sports that C-USA does not sponsor: field hockey, wrestling, men's swimming and women's lacrosse.

The CAA has affiliate members in several sports, notably wrestling and men's lacrosse. But commissioner Tom Yeager said that the league will wait until the expansion and realignment dust settles in order to address that.

Yeager wants the full membership, newcomers included, to have the opportunity to debate whether ODU's "orphaned" programs can remain in the league and compete for conference titles and automatic berths — provided that's what the Monarchs want.

Yeager said that the CAA generally welcomes affiliate members so that a sport has enough teams to qualify for NCAA automatic bid status, not to provide a home for programs in sports in which the conference already qualifies. But he is prepared to leave that to the membership.

As for when CAA expansion might be complete, Yeager joked, "For my own sanity, I needed it known by Memorial Day, but we're a few months past that."

CAA football expanded last week to include Stony Brook and Albany for 2013. But the football league was in a much dicier situation. The departures of ODU and Georgia State, and the possible departure of Rhode Island, left the league with as few as eight teams.

"Right now, next year we're down to nine teams," Yeager said. "Intercollegiate athletics operated for a long time with eight- and nine-team leagues. We're still working toward it, and I think the biggest part of the process is that everyone wants to get it right."

Yeager said that there are several schools considering CAA membership. College of Charleston is the only school whose officials have publicly admitted that they're considering a move.

"Ideally, we'd like to have it complete before the school year starts, which is now just a couple weeks away," Yeager said. "There's no magic deadline, but at some point, it becomes important to make a decision if you're going to come in for 2013-14 because of all the administrative and scheduling work."

When the CAA expanded to include four America East schools — Delaware, Drexel, Towson and Hofstra — the announcement didn't come until December 2000. Those four schools began CAA play the following fall.

As usual, Yeager wouldn't discuss potential candidates, or even how many schools the CAA is prepared to invite. He did say that an even number is preferable for scheduling purposes, particularly in basketball.

He also said that the conference needs to be able to react quickly in the event of further realignment and uncertainty that might shake loose potentially attractive schools or prompt them to look elsewhere.

"Things can happen pretty quickly," he said. "I think we've seen that, pretty close to home."

Teams at ODU and Georgia State are preparing for one last lap around the CAA. They're playing the hand they were dealt when administrators decided to change conferences to accommodate their football programs, while the CAA stuck to its bylaws about departing members being ineligible for conference titles.

"I think our boys are pretty disappointed, particularly the seniors, that they don't get a chance to play in the conference tournament," Dawson said. "We got beat in the conference final last year, so they walked away with a sour taste in their mouths, so they're not happy at all. I think that attitude is going to translate to the field this year."

Dawson said the aim, obviously, is to win the regular-season title. That comes with a trophy this year, from which the Monarchs wouldn't be excluded and would provide a measure of validation.

"We've got a little bit of a chip on our shoulder," Dawson said. "We're not happy about what went down. It's certainly not our fault. Hopefully, we'll take that chip on the shoulder, take it onto the pitch and take care of business."